Gov. Scott Highlights New PACE Center for Girls in Miami

Today, Governor Rick Scott announced the opening of the new Miami Center of the PACE Center for Girls. The Florida Families First Budget invested more than $600,000 in additional PACE funding to assist in establishing a PACE Center for Girls in Miami. PACE is a nationally recognized leader in helping keep girls out of the juvenile justice system, reducing recidivism and improving school success.

Governor Scott said, “This $600,000 investment in a new PACE Center for Girls will allow more young women the opportunity to participate in a program that continues their academic education and provides counseling, career preparation, and service learning opportunities that will set them on a path to successful adulthood. We know that education is a key factor in keeping at-risk youth from entering the juvenile justice system, and now, with this funding, 50 more girls will have the opportunity to be involved with the PACE program in Miami.”

This new center will provide 50 additional girls with the opportunity to be involved with the PACE program. PACE Miami joins seventeen other centers across Florida serving over 2000 girls each year.

“PACE Center provides our most vulnerable girls and young women with a second opportunity at achieving a better life,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “We join Governor Scott in welcoming the 18th PACE Center to Miami-Dade County and look forward to having them serve as an additional partner in the juvenile justice system.”

Christy Daly, Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice said, “We are thrilled at the opportunity to expand our partnership with PACE and value their commitment and that of this community to serve girls in Miami-Dade County.”

Dedicating resources at the front end of the juvenile justice system in community prevention services like PACE is a strategy that has proven successful. Florida’s juvenile delinquency rate is the lowest it has been since 1984.

“PACE Center for Girls deeply appreciates Gov. Scott and the Florida Legislature for their support in bringing the PACE Center for Girls to Miami,” said Mary Marx, President and CEO, PACE Center for Girls, Inc. “The focus on gender responsive education, counseling, training and advocacy will support girls in Miami to achieve greater success in school, at home and in their communities. PACE is a nationally recognized leader in helping girls find success and we are grateful for the opportunity to help more girls and young women in Miami and across Florida reach their full potential.”